Journal

What's on my so-called mind?

The Internet Society (ISOC) warns of Scam Emails

Wed, Nov 19, 2008 9:22 AM

The ISOC is a soft-spoken little organization with a huge responsibility -- they run the Internet. So when I got their mailing-list warning in my email this morning, I knew it was likely to miss the people likely to get scammed -- those that use the Internet but don't know about the ISOC. Here's the warning -- hopefully someone searching Google will find it before they get scammed!

Dear colleagues

The Internet Society (ISOC) has recently become aware that there is an email scam circulating, which claims to be part of a competition sponsored by ISOC.

The email, which claims that ISOC is a sponsor of the "FAN-OF-THE-WEB Promotion for 2008", promises a prize will be sent once the recipient provides certain personal details, including passport information, as well as a payment for shipping fees.

Please be advised that ISOC is not connected in any way with these emails, nor does it sponsor the competition named in those mails. Furthermore, ISOC is not involved in any competitions or awards that would result in unsolicited emails of this nature.

ISOC urges all Internet users to be careful of any unsolicited emails that ask you to provide money or personal information. If you have any doubts about any mail which purports to be connected to ISOC, please feel welcome to contact us directly:

http://www.isoc.org/isoc/contact.shtml

Kind regards

--
Gerard Ross
Senior Communications Manager
Internet Society


	Mon, Nov 17, 2008 1:37 AM
Okay friends, I don't get facebook -- I just don't get it. What's the attraction? Seems very confining. What am I missing?

Tweets for Today

Mon, Nov 17, 2008 1:10 AM

23:53 Okay friends, I don't get facebook -- I just don't get it. What's the attraction? Seems very confining. What am I missing? #

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Worth a Click: A Plea to Those who Voted against Marriage for All

Wed, Nov 12, 2008 8:51 PM

I gotta admit, I've been mystified at the California Prop-8 vote, or even worse, the Arkansas vote that will break up 400 GLBT-led foster families. If they'll know we are Christians by our love, then what's your excuse for voting for these hateful measures! Thanks God, in this cold, wet, lonely world, here's a man -- a straight man -- who thinks with his head and his heart instead of his hate.

"And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics. This is about the human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want—a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Only now you are saying to them—no." -- Keith Olberman: Gay Marriage is a Question of Love

(thanks to Tony B!)

2 comments

Skype for Linux and Sound Issues with Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex

Tue, Nov 11, 2008 1:12 PM

After installing Skype for Linux and trying various Audio options in Skype's set up, I couldn't find the right combination of devices that would let Skype make sounds when calls or events happened, or complete Skype's echo123 Call Testing Service.

First, I had to figure out whether my embedded microphone was working. Testing with Sound Recorder and Ubuntu's Volume Control preferences led me settings that were disabled by default. In Volume Control's preferences, enable the Input Switcher control (appears on an Options which now appears) and the Capture recording control. I used Sound Recorder (Applications, Sound & Video) to quickly test and play back my voice with the Input Switcher to figure out which input was my laptop's microphone. Once I could record and play back my voice at a pleasant level, I could move on to making the microphone work with Skype.

The next nut to crack was figuring out the right combination in Skype's audio options... I love people that solve technical problems and post their solutions. Sure makes life easy! I didn't have to go through all the combinations. My thanks goes to 'hyperair' over on the Skype forum!

Thank you very much for posting your solution!
QUOTE (hyperair @ Mon Nov 3 2008, 03:30)
Did anybody try the solution in this post? Right now, my audio settings are as follows:
Sound In: HDA Intel (hw:intel,0)
Sound Out: pulse
Recording: pulse

You'll have to make sure libasound2-plugins is installed, and at least version 1.0.17.

One last step (for me): quit and restart Skype.

After making your suggested changes, my test call attempt failed. After quitting and restarting Skype, it worked perfectly. Thank you very much for posting! I wish more people would do this when they solve difficult problems. YOU'RE AWESOME!

Hope this helps you, too!

Doing Unto Them As They Did Unto Others

Mon, Nov 10, 2008 6:27 PM

Gay marriage proponents peacefully marched on the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City in protest of the church's support of California's Prop-8, which changed the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry and deny recognition of any legally-married same-sex couples from other states.

Stocking up: Gun Fans See Ban Ahead

Sun, Nov 9, 2008 11:39 AM

The election is over (hooray!) and folks are trying to figure out what's coming next. Here is one surprising set of story headlines:

Obama win triggers run on guns in many stores
Reuters - Nov 8, 2008
By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX (Reuters) - Sales of rifles, pistols and ammo are surging
in parts of the United States, as many gun owners fear President-elect ...

Fears of Democrat crackdown lead to gun sales boom
The Associated Press - Nov 7, 2008
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. (AP) — When 10-year-old Austin Smith heard Barack Obama had
been elected president, he had one question: Does this mean I won't get a new
...

Obama election prompts surge in US gun sales
guardian.co.uk, UK - Nov 7, 2008
Barack Obama said he would improve the economy. Turns out he already has, at
least in one retail niche: gun sales. Starting in the days before the election,
...

Obama Win Triggers US Gun Rush
Sky News, UK - Nov 7, 2008
Use the drop down menu below to filter stories and videos the way you want -
when you want it! Gun sales have soared in parts of America in the wake of ...

Gun crazy
Taipei Times, Taiwan - Nov 7, 2008
By Jason Blevins And Nancy Lofholm John Faulkner and his wife, Brenda, thought
Wednesday was a good day to buy a handgun. “I'm 37 years old and this is
the ...

Gun shop backs off "Obama sale" on guns and ammo
Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA - Nov 7, 2008
A local gun shop that used Barack Obama's name to hawk weapons has backed
down, saying the message was meant to champion gun rights, not threaten
violence. ...

On Concerns Over Gun Control, Gun Sales Are Up
New York Times, United States - Nov 6, 2008
Barack Obama is “a gun-snatcher,” said Jim Pruett, left, owner of Jim
Pruett's Guns and Ammo in northwest Houston. He said sales had been booming
recently. ...

Election triggers upsurge in military-like firearms sales
Salt Lake Tribune, United States - Nov 6, 2008
By Sheena McFarland Frank Baer, the owner of Patriot Arms and Gun Repair in
West Jordan, holds a Bushmaster AR-15 .223-caliber rifle Wednesday at his shop.
...

Stores say gun-control fears spur firearms sales
Houston Chronicle, United States - Nov 6, 2008
By ANGELA K. BROWN AP FORT WORTH — While watching Republican presidential
candidate John McCain's concession speech, gun owner AJ Sullivan had a sinking
...

Gun sales soar over political, economic worries
KTVZ, OR - 3 hours ago
By Nina Mehlhaf, KTVZ.COM Another sign, possibly of the economy and possibly
due to the selection of our newest president: Gun sales are at the highest ...

Election prompts many to get their guns
Buffalo News, United States - 6 hours ago
By Matthew Spina NEWS STAFF REPORTER Harry McLain Jr. saw the spike the day
after the election, when his sales doubled over the previous year then shot
even ...

Local gun sales mirror national trend
Press-Register - al.com, AL - 8 hours ago
By JEFF DUTE A couple of outdoors equipment retailers in Mobile and Baldwin
counties say sales of assault guns and ammunition at their stores have
increased ...

Obama victory -- best firearms marketing plan ever
Examiner.com - Nov 8, 2008
by JD Tuccille, Civil Liberties Examiner As Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea
writes in his own take on this issue, "Across the nation, gun sales are up.
...

Obama Election Sparks Gun Sales
13WHAM-TV, NY - Nov 8, 2008
Rochester, NY -- Any mention of the word “economy” is usually followed by
bad news of late, but for gun dealers – business is booming. ...

Fears of gun restrictions trigger increased sales
Statesman Journal, OR - Nov 8, 2008
Gun enthusiasts nationwide are stocking up on firearms because of fears that
the combination of a Barack Obama administration and a Democrat-dominated ...

Election spurs a run on guns
StandardNet, Utah - Nov 7, 2008
By Sam Cooper Propelled by concerns over the election of Barack Obama and
Democratic control of the US House and Senate, guns are flying off the shelf at
a ...

Fear of weapons ban spurs sales
Bangor Daily News, ME - Nov 7, 2008
By Julia Bayly In the short term, this week's election of Barack Obama to be
the next president of the United States and Democratic gains in Congress have
...

Some gun enthusiasts stocking up before new administration in place
KLTV, TX - Nov 7, 2008
Some Texans are flocking to gun shops, stocking up on ammo and firearms. In
fact, sales at many stores in the state are up significantly among fears that
...

Fearing A New Gun Ban, People Flock To Gun Stores
KTUL, OK - Nov 7, 2008
Tulsa - Americans are buying guns in record numbers. Sales are up ten percent
this fall with many people worried that gun laws will soon change. ...

Gun Sales Soar
TriCities.com, TN - Nov 7, 2008
By News Channel 11 Many of them fear the combination of an Obama administration
and a Democrat-dominated Congress will bring tough new gun laws. ...

Gun sales up in NC after Obama win
WRAL.com, NC - Nov 7, 2008
Fuquay-Varina, NC — North Carolinians are among gun enthusiasts nationwide
stocking up on firearms out of worries that President-elect Obama and a ...

Gun shops see sales boom after Obama election victory
KJCT8.com, CO - Nov 7, 2008
AP - November 7, 2008 3:34 PM ET MIDLOTHIAN, Va. (AP) - Barack Obama's election
victory is already proving a boon to one demographic group that may not have
...

Some pack heat after GOP defeat
Aspen Daily News, CO - Nov 7, 2008
by Kai Beech, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer With the election of Barack Obama
to the White House comes a promise of change. That promise of change, however,
...

In Fort Worth, Obama's election prompts run on guns and ammunition
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX - Nov 6, 2008
By ANNA M. TINSLEY So less than 48 hours after Democrat Barack Obama was
elected president, Craig went out to buy an M-4 rifle. "It's for protection,"
the ...

South Park is Amazing

Sun, Nov 9, 2008 8:55 AM

South Park pulled it off again this week. Episode 1212, called "About Last Night..." is described by the studio, "While the country celebrates the outcome of the election, the new President-elect catches everyone off guard when he arrives at the White House prematurely." It aired 24 hours after the press projected Obama as our next President-elect.

As usual, Comedy Central ran it over it's 30-minute slot, and Comcast's DVR dutifully cut off the progr am exactly on time -- resulting in the final punch-line getting cut off. Fortunately, you can view the episode at http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/207897/ in its uncensored (and foul-mouthed) entirety! The last line was worth it.

When I say that they "pulled it off again," South Park fans will remember that only 3 days after federal agents took Elian Gonzalez from a home in Miami, South Park aired its Quintuplets 2000 episode, parodying the event. Well, they've done it again, and this time it only took 24 hours!


	Thu, Nov 6, 2008 4:04 PM
Comparing Two Windows 7 vs. Vista Comparison Articles -- Explain this? -- http://ping.fm/BOaki

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Thu, Nov 6, 2008 2:27 PM

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Comparing Two Windows 7 vs. Vista Comparison Articles

Thu, Nov 6, 2008 11:23 AM

Comparing Two Windows 7 vs. Vista Comparison Articles

(digg this)

I ran across these two articles covering a Microsoft presentation on the benefits of the logo programs, system performance, and hardware compatibility of Windows 7 over Vista.

Forgetting the technology for a moment, these stories are amazingly alike! They were purportedly written by two different authors from unrelated publishers.

What explains this? Coincidence? Did one copy from another? Did Microsoft write both stories?


Windows 7 Cuts Down On Compatibility Labels By Eric Blair 14:53, November 6th 2008 http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Windows_7_Cuts_Down_On_Compatibility_Labels_28293.html	Windows 7: One compatibility label, no confusion By Gavin Clarke 6th November 2008 03:38 GMT http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/06/windows_seven_logos/
The four different compatibility labels that Microsoft designed for Windows Vista were a pain. They created confusion to such an extent that they lead to an ongoing class-action lawsuit against the company. Microsoft has taken a hint and it will only have one (1) such label for Windows 7.	Microsoft is reducing its four Windows-compatible logos, responsible for confusion and a class action lawsuit, down to a single system for consumers and partners.
Microsoft partners who wish to be labeled as compatible with Windows Vista’s descendent will only have to complete one certification program, said the company on Wednesday. Consumers will subsequently need to look for just a single sticker on their hardware or software.	Partners that want compatibility with Windows Vista's successor operating system, Windows 7, will only have to navigate a single certification program, Microsoft said Wednesday, and consumers need to look for just a single sticker on their PCs, peripherals or software.
This move does away with the four stickers; two that currently certify PCs either running on Windows Vista in full, or being compatible with the program on a “basic” level, and the “certified for Windows Vista” and “works with Windows vista” stickers for software and devices.	Out will go the four current stickers and programs that certify PCs as either capable of running the full Windows Vista or Windows Vista "basic", as well as the "certified for Windows Vista" and "works with Windows Vista" for software and devices.
It is however too early to tell what the appearance of the final Windows 7 compatibility sticker would be, said Gary Schare, director of Microsoft hardware ecosystem product management, at the Microsoft Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC)	It's too early to say what the final sticker would look like, Gary Schare, director of Microsoft's hardware ecosystem product management, told The Reg during Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles, California.
According to Schare, there will be stickers for the different types of machines running Windows 7 such as PCs, touch-screen devices and media centers.	Four become one: sticker consolidation plan He did say, though, there would be stickers for different machines running Windows 7 such as PCs, touch-screen devices, and media centers.
Schare also said that the four Windows Vista stickers have “helped spur innovation” but made the logo rather unclear and testing and certification confusing and expensive for hardware and software partners.	Schare said the multiple Windows Vista stickers had "helped spur innovation" but muddied the logo while making testing and certification confusing and expensive for hardware and software partners. Uptake of Windows Vista was badly hampered by the chronic lack of third-party hardware and software capable of working with the operating system out of the gate.
To address these issues, Schare said “"We want to simplify the program to let the consumer know what they are looking for and for the partner to know what they have to do.”	"We want to simplify the program to let the consumer know what they are looking for and for the partner to know what they have to do," Schare said.
Microsoft has also gotten into some more serious trouble due to the logo program. The company had designed two “Windows Vista Premium Ready” and “Windows Vista Premium Capable” logos before the products launch, and these ultimately lead to an ongoing class-action lawsuit started by consumers who are claiming Microsoft deceived them with advertising and claims about what exactly Windows Vista “capable” means.	The Windows Vista logo program has also landed Microsoft in hot water. Before the current four logos, Microsoft had devised its "Windows Vista Premium Ready" and "Windows Vista Premium Capable" logos ahead of the product's launch. A class action lawsuit is now wending its way through the US courts, begun by consumers claiming Microsoft deceived them with its adverts and claims of what exactly Windows Vista "capable" meant.
These changes coincide with the company making a call to arms for hardware engineers to start developing for Windows 7, itself preceded by a software developers’ rally at the PDC.	The changes come as Microsoft starts banging the drum for hardware engineers to begin targeting Windows 7, the week after evangelizing about the OS to software developers at its Professional Developers' Conference (PDC).
Microsoft executives claimed at WinHEC that Windows 7 has implemented tweaks that will improve power consumption, performance and footprint, which will improve the new OS’s suitability to netbook-type small laptops. Windows 7 is also reported to work right out of the box with a large selection of PC hardware, unlike Vista.	Executives at WinHEC claimed tweaking and tuning in power consumption, performance and footprint terms will speed-up Windows 7 and make it more suited to netbooks, which have limited form factors and power sources. Also, unlike Windows Vista, Microsoft wants Windows 7 to be able to run on consumers' existing PC hardware.
To demonstrate this, Microsoft ran Windows 7 on an Asus EEE S101 with 1GB RAM, a 16 GB solid-state drive, and dual-ATOM core processors. Schare used the system to point out Windows 7 improvements in sequential accessing, as on an SSD, as opposed to HDD random access. It’s unknown if Windows 7 will ship with both technologies or if there will be separate releases.	Microsoft demonstrated an Asus EEE S101 with a 1GB RAM, 16GB solid-state drive and a dual-core ATOM processor running the full Windows 7 at WinHEC. Schare said Windows has been tweaked to provide sequential access on a solid-state drive rather than use random access on a hard drive. He was unable to say whether the final Windows 7 would ship with both options in the same edition, or be available as separate features.
Schare claimed an 11-15% increase in battery life, as well as 1-2% less CPU downtime, over Vista where these were two particularly bothersome issues.	Schare claimed Windows 7 had an 11-15 per cent improvement in battery life over Windows Vista, while CPU idle time was down to between one and two per cent. A major niggle with Windows Vista has been the fact it freezes as it goes into CPU cycles. Boot-up and shut-down have been sped up, too.
Microsoft was note yet prepared to give precise metrics as they point out Windows 7 is still in pre-beta stage.	Of course we'll have to take him at his word on the OS's performance, as Microsoft has yet to provide final metrics. Schare said Microsoft was not prepared to yet provide final or exact metrics. It's worth noting that Windows 7 has not yet reached the beta phase, so Microsoft is showing off some extremely early code.

(digg this)

4 comments

The First Step in Command and Conquer 3 is to Guess the Install Code

Mon, Nov 3, 2008 8:47 PM

Sometimes my industry embarrasses me!

QUESTION
What can I do if my Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 install code is 19 characters instead of 20?

ANSWER
If you are trying to install Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 and the code is only 19 characters long, then it is missing the last letter or number. This was due to a misprint on a small number of manuals and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

There is currently a work around that may allow you to bypass this issue. Since you have the first 19 characters of the code already, you can basically try "guessing" the last character. To do this, simply enter your existing code, and then for the last character, try the letters A-Z, and then the numbers 0-9. You should eventually get the right combination, and be able to play the game. If this does not work, you can follow the instructions below.

In order to get a replacement code, please click the "Contact Us" link on the left side of the page to send an e-mail to our team.

If you would like you can also contact us by phone using the number found on page 28 of your manual.

(link to Electronic Arts website)

Awesome Observation ...

Mon, Nov 3, 2008 2:35 PM

Read here:

When people are consumers, they want socialism; when people are taxpayers, they want libertarianism; and when people are investors, they want profits. No two of these extremes can co-exist with either of the others.

My "read-only" 8GB PNY Attache is Alive -- thanks to someone who figured it out and posted

... Mood: thankful ...

Mon, Nov 3, 2008 1:53 PM

Guys and gals,

If you figure something out that's probably bugging others, please take the extra 5 minutes to report it somewhere! Thank Google that "SMallard" at the Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville decided to post their experience.

Ever get that weird-assed message that "The Parameter is Incorrect" when using a USB Thumb Drive? Well, it started like that and the more I tried to fix it, the worse it got. I ended up with a thumb drive that was inaccessible "read-only" in Windows and gave me other weird errors in Linux that seemed to hose up the USB system. Indeed, this problem of improperly "Read-Only" or "Write-Protected" USB flash drives is pretty common, according to Google.

While there are a number of commercial "low-level format" solutions to download, it was never clear that would fix it. The app from PNY gave me the same screen that they got in Tennessee...

...and the solution that worked for them worked for me as well! It's the "HN212 Handy Steno 2.0 Repair Tool" that currently is at http://www.apacer.com/en/support/downloads/Repair_v2.9.1.1.zip (if they move it, you'll have to search for it on their site). This is not a data recovery tool -- run the tool and IT WILL ERASE ALL OF YOUR DATA on the thumb drive, but at the end you will have a drive that you can read and write to instead of a read-only key-fob.

Hopefully this helps someone else save a few bucks on a replacement drive!

1 comment

Worth a Click: John McCain's QVC SNL Opener

Sun, Nov 2, 2008 9:57 AM

No matter who you vote(d) for, this is funny!

I must be bowling poorly for my health!

Fri, Oct 31, 2008 10:59 PM

It wasn't a great bowling night. Our opposing team had a Halloween gig and didn't show, so we bowled unopposed. Without the other team there to take up time, we were up to bowl nearly back-to-back, no time to sit and bullshit between frames. My scores were something like 168, 137, 124. My average is 143.

Maybe I'm subconsciously protecting my health -- check out this story ...

Bowler collapses and dies after rolling 300 game | wzzm13.com | Grand Rapids, MI:

RAVENNA, Mich. (WZZM) - Teammates in his bowling league think after rolling a perfect 300 game Don Doane's heart just gave out.

"You get nervous shooting a 300," says teammate Todd Place. "The pressure keeps building," says bowling alley owner Jim Nutt.

Minutes after achieving the life long goal of a perfect game the 62 year old bowler collapsed and died at Ravenna Bowl in Ravenna. "Don just collapsed," says alley owner Nutt. " At first we thought he just fainted." "Then when I rolled him over I realized it wasn't good," says teammate Place.

The teammates say he was giving a high-five minutes before. They tried to revive him but Doane never spoke another word. He died of what was apparently a massive heart attack "He looked fine, reached across the table and gave me a high-five and he fell over," says Place.

"I think he died by the time he hit the floor." Don Doane was a member of the "Nutt Farm" bowling team at Ravenna Bowl for 45 years. His teammates says its strange not to see him on league nights.

"It was like a book, a final chapter," says Place. "He threw his 300 game with all of his friends, gave each other high-fives and it's like the story ended. He died with a smile on his face."

"Don will be a legend," says Nutt. 'It's something that will never be forgotten as long as people bowl here." Ravenna Bowl is planning a memorial ceremony for Doan's' wife Linda and son Chad.

McCain Will Electrify You - Literally!

Fri, Oct 31, 2008 1:56 PM

This is being talked about quite a bit. But if the story isn't bad enough, check out final line of the broadcast as covered by the local news...

CLICK HERE to see the video.

perezhilton.com » McCain Will Electrify You - Literally!:

This is somewhat shocking, funny, and yet sad at the same time.

A resident of Chapel Hill, N.C., was very upset that someone kept stealing his McCain-Palin campaign signs from his yard.

So, Shawn Turschak decided to do something about it! And, being an electrical engineer really helped.

Earlier this week, Turschak decided to hook up a third sign to a power source belonging to an electric pet fence. He also hooked up a surveillance camera to catch the thief.

And, to everyone's surprise, this time around it was a 9 year-old boy, with an Obama-Biden sign in his hand, that grabbed the McCain sign and got a jolt of electricity.

The child's father is upset that his son got shocked, so he showed up at Turschak's door along with an Orange County Sheriff.

As for the boy's dad, he says his kid just wanted to see how the sign was put together.

Riiiiiight.

Turschak says the boy intended to swap out the signs.

But, in Turschak's defense, he did put up signs warning of electrical shocks.

No charges are said to be filed and Turschak did remove the electric shockers.

The following day, though, his camera caught another person stealing another McCain-Palin sign off his property!

CLICK HERE to see footage of the kid getting shocked. Thankfully it wasn't anything hurtful, but we doubt the kid will be trespassing again anytime soon.

Ubuntu 8.10 Released

Thu, Oct 30, 2008 7:35 AM

Ubuntu 8.10 released:

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop and Server,
continuing Ubuntu's tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open
source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

Read more about the features of Ubuntu 8.10 in the following press releases:

Desktop edition http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-8.10-desktop
Server edition http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-8.10-server

Ubuntu 8.10 will be supported for 18 months on both desktops and servers.
Users requiring a longer support lifetime may choose to continue using
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS rather than upgrading to or installing 8.10.

Ubuntu 8.10 is also the basis for new 8.10 releases of Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and
UbuntuStudio:

http://kubuntu.org/news/8.10-release
http://xubuntu.org/news/intrepid/release
http://ubuntustudio.org/8-10_release_note

To Get Ubuntu 8.10
------------------

To download Ubuntu 8.10, or obtain CDs, visit:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu

Because Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is a long-term support release, users of that
release will not be offered an automatic upgrade to 8.10 via Update Manager.
For instructions on upgrading to Ubuntu 8.10, see:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/upgrading

As always, upgrades to the latest version of Ubuntu are entirely free of
charge.

We recommend that all users read the release notes, which document
caveats and workarounds for known issues. They are available at:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/810

Find out what's new in this release with a graphical overview:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/810overview

If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but
aren't sure, try asking on the #ubuntu IRC channel, on the Ubuntu Users
mailing list, or on the Ubuntu forums:

#ubuntu on irc.freenode.net
http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/

Helping Shape Ubuntu
--------------------

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways
you can participate at:

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

About Ubuntu
------------

Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, and
servers, with a fast and easy install and regular releases. A
tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and
an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.

Professional technical support is available from Canonical Limited and
hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about
support, visit:

http://www.ubuntu.com/support

More Information
----------------

You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this release on our website:

http://www.ubuntu.com/